Thank You
by Rosie2009
Summary: Mal wants all of the VKs, the most important part of her family, to meet the newest very important addition to her ragtag, strange little group- her father. Hades father/daughter feels, Core Four fluff, and Hades/Core Four feelings.


"Why do you think we're supposed to be coming to the Parfait Palace?" Carlos asked the other two VKs walking along beside him as he straightened his shirt that he simply could not seem to keep in place properly.

"Better yet, why is even called that? It sells girly lunch stuff, not desserts," Jay wondered aloud, chuckling under his breath as he furrowed his brow in thought. Evie shook her head at the two of them, not really knowing what to expect from the restaurant gathering but knowing that they should get there very soon.

"All Mal said was to meet her there and that it was important. Nothing more and nothing less," Evie informed them, going over for what felt like the millionth time what Mal had texted her about thirty minutes ago.

She noticed that Carlos was still trying to fix his shirt and she turned and easily adjusted it mid-stride. Carlos nodded his head in thanks, smiling at her.

"Who thinks of the names for these eating joints? I mean, really? Honestly, I could start my own restaurant and I'd call it something ten times more awesome," Jay continued in his fussing about the eatery's nomenclature.

"And what exactly would you name it, anyway?" Carlos questioned

"Jay's Junk Food."

"That's definitely going to attract everybody in town," Carlos somewhat sarcastically remarked, and Jay smiled, full of himself as he swaggered down the sidewalk.

"When they tasted it, you couldn't get them to leave," Jay assured him confidently. Evie rolled her eyes at the two fondly as she spotted the restaurant that they were supposed to be meeting Mal at.

"There it is, you guys. Let's go see," Evie brought their attention to it, and they all moved toward it a bit quicker in the midst of their curiosity surrounding the purpose of their invitation from their sister.

They all arrived at the door and Jay opened it, letting the rest of them in before entering himself. Evie looked around and easily saw a stunningly purple head of hair seated at a table with five chairs.

As if she felt that someone was looking at her, Mal turned her head and happened to see all of them. She waved them over and they looked at each other for a moment before easily complying.

The three VKs took their seats and Evie put her purse underneath her chair as she got comfortable next to Mal. Mal took a breath, smiling widely as she regarded her family.

"So first, let me say, I am so glad that you guys are all here," Mal expressed as she looked at the three people sitting just in front of her. The other members of the Core Four looked at one another quizzically before Jay decided to speak up.

"Uh… Why are you talking to us like we're a bunch of old farts on the council?" he asked her, and Evie couldn't help but giggle a bit at his blunt statement. Carlos just shrugged, agreeing with him as he gazed at Mal like a lost puppy.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I'm kind of in the habit of it now since I started helping Ben with his meetings and getting in some practice before I'm Queen," Mal explained herself somewhat sheepishly, but began rocking on her heels in the midst of her ultimate feelings of excitement surrounding whatever it was that she was about to do.

"Trust me, she's a real expert with it," Evie told them with a warm smile thrown in Mal's direction. Mal grinned back at her, clapping her hands once as she glanced once more at them all.

"Okay, so the reason that you are all here is so that you can meet my dad," Mal informed them with an overwhelming excitement that was so foreign to the purple-haired girl.

Evie eyed her softly, not really surprised by the other girl's emotions. She knew that it meant a lot to Mal for all of her most valued family members to meet her newest addition to her family. Or perhaps in this case, re-addition.

However, Carlos looked somewhat terrified at the prospect of talking to the most hot-headed person on the Isle that was a god to boot. Jay didn't seem to be too bothered, but he did seem to be a bit more antsy as he sat in his chair at the table.

"We already know your dad," Carlos replied to her, hoping to maybe escape this situation before he actually had to talk to or interact in any sort of way with the god.

"Well, duh. I just wanted you guys to talk to him and get to know him better," Mal proclaimed, with an unimpressed raise of her eyebrow as she addressed the de Vil.

Evie looked at her quietly as she assessed her sister. She could easily see the slight nervousness in the other girl's stance, and Mal seemed to be a bit more defensive about the entire thing. Evie reached over and took Mal's hand in her own carefully.

"That sounds awkward," Jay informed them, and Evie immediately shot him a look of warning in defense of Mal's feelings.

"That sounds terrifying," Carlos expressed his verdict, and Mal looked at them with a bit of disappointment creeping onto her features. Evie quickly sprang into action, voicing her opinions.

"That sounds wonderful," Evie assured her sweetly in an attempt to erase whatever damage that might have been unknowingly dealt by the boys. Mal nodded at her, and Evie could see some of the doubts seeping from her. Evie couldn't help but sigh a bit in slight relief being that the crisis had been averted.

Evie smiled at her, looking around for the man in question.

"So where is your dad?"

Before Mal could answer, a towering figure walked through the doorway of the preppy lunch snack shop. Hades looked at all of them, offering a small wave in greeting of all of their stares.

Carlos looked like he was either going to wet his pants or bolt, and Jay really didn't want to hang around because he didn't like awkward conversations. Evie offered a sweet, polite smile in his direction as she subtly glanced at Mal.

"You could've picked a place that wasn't so… Auradony," Hades told Mal quietly, looking around the shop and noticing that all of the people were staring at him as if he were the latest freak at the circus.

"Oh, get in here! Sit down," Mal hurried him, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to rest at the table that they were all gathered at. He looked at the uncomfortable little chair positioned next to Mal's empty seat. He eyed it for a bit longer before finally carefully sitting down with a slight wince.

"These sure aren't made for big guys," Hades off-handedly remarked as Mal took her seat between him and Evie.

For a few moments, they were all quiet before Mal broke the nigh deafening silence.

"So have you guys even thought of what you want to eat?" Mal questioned, trying to remove the chilliness in the atmosphere. Hades shrugged.

"Well, I just got here, so… Y'know, haven't exactly been able to look at the menu," the god replied sarcastically and Mal rolled her eyes fondly, bumping into his shoulder with her own.

"I figured that, dum-dum," Mal smiled, and Hades eyed her fondly before there was yet another silence that fell upon the group. Jay blew a bit of air out of his mouth and bit his lip, trying to resist the urge to just leave. Carlos shifted uncomfortably in his chair, keeping a close eye on the god as if one wrong move would set him off.

Evie cleared her throat quickly, choosing to answer Mal's previous question.

"I was maybe considering a salad," Evie told Mal with an easygoing smile, trying to stay positive and upbeat in the midst of this painfully awkward gathering. Mal nodded her head, acknowledging Evie's answer with an over-cheerful enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I think I'd like a salad, too," Carlos somewhat self-consciously told Mal, worried that Hades was judging his every move. Jay raised an eyebrow at the younger boy before glancing in the direction of the counter.

"Do they sell meat here?" Jay asked nonchalantly and Evie snorted before she could stop herself. Jay laughed a little in response, shrugging his shoulders.

"Amen to that, brother. This guy's asking the real questions," Hades joked with a smirk, pointing at the son of Jafar. Jay attempted a small smile in return, but it faded away quickly.

"I don't think so. I think they might sell something like mini sandwiches with turkey."

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," Jay settled, knowing that was probably closest to any kind of meat that he would be getting at that restaurant.

Mal looked to her father, waiting on him to pick something. Hades shrugged, not having any idea what to choose.

"Just pick something you think is good. I'm up for trying something. Just don't get anything leafy," Hades explained with a slightly disgusted expression.

"Okay, then!" Mal grinned widely, gently clapping her hands on the table as she arose from her seat without hesitation.

"I'll be back in just a few minutes! I'll go order and get the food!" Mal way too cheerfully told them as she hurried away, sending hopeful glances in their direction.

Evie sighed slightly, knowing that Mal was trying to give them all time to bond together without her influence or input. She chewed the inside of her gum carefully, looking at the people at the table around her.

Hades let out a breath carefully, looking at his daughter with a slight smile as she walked up to the counter to inform the workers of what they all wanted. He then looked at the younger three that were surrounding him.

He eyed them all for a moment before starting to speak.

"I need to tell you guys something," he announced. Carlos jumped a bit, staring at the older man, and Jay's gaze snapped to Hades' form. Evie looked at the god and nodded caringly.

"I better get on with it before Mal comes back," he murmured, halfway to himself and halfway to the VKs. Hades took in a breath, carefully considering what he was about to say.

"Listen, I know I'm not the best guy in the world, and I'm most certainly not the best dad in the world, but," Hades paused for a moment, sighing deeply before making eye contact with the three of them, "I just wanted to say thank you."

Carlos' eyes went abnormally large as he unashamedly gaped at the older man. Jay was almost just as shocked as Carlos, and Evie was even surprised at what had just come from Hades' mouth.

"For what?" Jay questioned, more than a bit dumbfounded as he tilted his head in an attempt to decipher what he thought Hades was trying to achieve with this statement.

"Thank you for taking care of her and being there for her," Hades ground out almost painfully. It was obvious that this was certainly not an easy expression of sentiment for him. After all, he was the god of the Underworld, and definitely not an emotional sort of person.

"You're welcome?" Carlos hesitantly replied and the squeak that came out at the end made his reply sound more like a question.

"I've been watching you three since you started hanging out with my daughter, and I'll be perfectly honest here," Hades breathed out. Evie mentally prepared herself for whatever he could throw at them as she patiently sat and listened to him carefully.

"I thought that you were looking to take advantage of her and use her until you were through having your fun," Hades looked to Jay, and the former thief furrowed his brow at the assessment as he digested it.

"I thought that you were using her as a defense between you and the rougher members of the Isle," Hades unashamedly admitted to Carlos. The de Vil boy frowned slightly at the god's preconception.

"I thought that you were quite possibly the most shallow and self-absorbed person on Earth and that you were going to end up hurting her," Hades told Evie with a somewhat regretful expression on his mostly impassive face. Evie nodded her head compassionately, accepting his understandings of her with grace.

"But over time, I found that you three were the best thing to ever happen to her," he explained with a strange, uncharacteristic softness to his voice as he gazed at the small crowd.

The three of them simply gaped at him with wide eyes as they took in this high praise. This was certainly not at all what they had expected. Of course, the entire conversation wasn't what they had anticipated.

In the midst of all of the strange quietness, Hades cleared his throat to dispel some of the tension he felt had built as a direct result of his admission.

"Anyways, no need to get mushy. Just thank you and whatever," Hades finished, looking down and scratching at an invisible speck on the table.

The three of them shared a glance and Evie pursed her lips before reaching over and placing her hand on his wrist. This immediately drew his attention away from his deliberate actions and he stared up at her with a bit of shock and uncomfortableness. Evie spared him a smile and squeezed his arm in her grasp.

"You are more than welcome, but you don't have to thank us. The three of us love your daughter more than anything in the world, and we will never stop standing by her side," Evie told him, a pure honesty in her tone as she addressed him sincerely.

"I know. I just wanted to tell you guys that I do appreciate it," he told her in a manner that quite possibly conveyed more seriousness than Evie had ever seen in his face. She nodded in response, looking at him with an equal somberness.

"Also, Tiny-Might looks like he might pass out from fear, so I wanted to establish my good will," he continued nonchalantly, and Carlos immediately had a defensive expression. Hades shot a small smirk in the boy's direction and Carlos eyed him with slight offense.

"I am not going to pass out!" Carlos protested, and the other two VKs simply laughed in response before Jay took hold of his head, giving him a firm noogie as he messed up the shorter boy's hair. Carlos pried Jay's hands off of his head and he quickly tamed his unruly locks.

"Dude! Leave it be! I fixed it up specially for today!" Carlos cried out. Hades raised an eyebrow at him and shared a glance with Evie who still had her hand on his wrist.

She smiled, moving her hand up to his shoulder and squeezing firmly before letting go of him.

"We should thank you, too, though. For having such a wonderful, amazing daughter," Evie expressed light-heartedly but with a sincerity that was touchingly genuine. Hades smiled slightly at her as he accepted her gratitude somewhat uncomfortably.

"She is great," Hades admiringly complimented the faerie not too far from them.

After a moment, however he piped up once again with something a little more sarcastic and humorous.

"Mostly gets it from my side of the family." Evie just laughed in response, nodding her head in certain agreeance with the statement.

Before they could continue the conversation any further, Mal returned with their food in a flourish.

"Here, E," Mal handed Evie the blunette's and Carlos' salads before pointing to one of them in particular that had a cherry on top, "that's Carlos'…"

Mal then proceeded to give Jay his plate of several miniature sandwiches, "Jay, there you go."

"And, Dad, here's yours," Mal delivered the god's food before him before she sat down between Evie and her father happily with her own plate.

"So, how has everyone been getting along?" Mal questioned curiously, attempting to stir up some sort of conversation as she looked at the other four people seated nearby her.

Hades looked at Evie, Jay, and Carlos with a sincere yet almost foreign fondness and appreciation in his eyes before he returned his gaze to his daughter's.

"You've got a really nice family here, Mal. Don't let anybody come between that." The shocked yet extremely touched expression on Mal's face completely warmed Evie's heart to the core. She sweetly looked at the boys before smiling at Hades and Mal easily.

"And your latest addition is really nice, too," Evie expressed, the boys quickly nodding in agreement with her.

Mal puffed up with such pride and happiness that Evie couldn't help but wrap her in an embrace. Evie reached over and took hold of Carlos, pulling him into her giant group hug, and Carlos grabbed Jay, too.

Hades awkwardly watched them for a moment before he finally found himself grabbed by Evie's arm that was around Mal and he was pulled uncomfortably against them.

Hades sighed slightly but smiled in spite of himself as he willingly wrapped an arm around Mal and Evie, the two closest people to him.

It was nice being a part of a family, and it was even nicer to have people that he could depend upon to take care of his greatest treasure.

**A/N: I am trying to go through my files and finish some of the things that I started a while back, and this was one of those things. This oneshot has been bouncing around in my head ever since I first watched D3, and I think that I first started on it not too long after D3 actually. I really hope that it wasn't too crappy. This was a weird idea, and I really liked it, but after I got started writing it, I kind of got a little worried, lol. Anyways, I have nevertheless dared to publish it. ;) Please let me know how I did with it! Have a great day!**


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